Personal Finance

Trying to make a credit card(TD) bill payment minus the refund; Suddenly they expect me to pay full payment?

  • Last Updated:
  • Jul 23rd, 2021 9:51 am
Sr. Member
Dec 22, 2010
755 posts
738 upvotes
Ontario

Trying to make a credit card(TD) bill payment minus the refund; Suddenly they expect me to pay full payment?

I don't do this a lot but when I get the refund after the statement date, I usually call TD Credit card company and tell them that I'll make a payment minus the refund made recently. I haven't had any problems or long conversations with them before. They all say sure, go ahead. That was it. No arguments or anything.
But then when I called them yesterday and talked with 2 people, they were giving me a lecture and insisted I must make a full payment. They both were making me feel like I'm doing something really wrong. I've never been late or missed the payment dates for almost 2 decades.
Again I don't this a lot. As far as I remember, last time I did was 2 years ago. It seems like that doesn't matter to them. They just told me to make a full payment, and then call them again to transfer the credit to my bank account. I was really appalled with these people because they kept saying, "the system doesn't allow it" when I told them, I don't want to waste my time by calling you again. It was like I was talking to the robots. Is there some kind of change of policies from TD or other credit card companies in this situation?
40 replies
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2012
1047 posts
490 upvotes
Trois-Rivières, QC
I would simply pay the full balance due to avoid any issues. This being said, I'd be curious to see what happens if you set up autopay at TD. Will their computer debit the full balance due or the balance minus the refund?

At RBC, my experience was that they debit the balance minus any refunds or payments received after the statement cut-off date.
Deal Addict
Oct 24, 2010
2982 posts
3186 upvotes
Ottawa
Typically refunds received after a bill is issued don't count towards the payment for that bill. They offset the balance for your next bill.

That's my experience with my issuers, anyway.
Sr. Member
Dec 22, 2010
755 posts
738 upvotes
Ontario
airodyssey wrote: I would simply pay the full balance due to avoid any issues. This being said, I'd be curious to see what happens if you set up autopay at TD. Will their computer debit the full balance due or the balance minus the refund?

At RBC, my experience was that they debit the balance minus any refunds or payments received after the statement cut-off date.
I have to call them to move the credit to my bank account. Otherwise, it'll stay as credit in my credit card account. Maybe I'll switch to RBC. Seriously I'm done with TD.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Aug 24, 2016
11667 posts
14020 upvotes
Win-ter-peg
testmann wrote: I have to call them to move the credit to my bank account. Otherwise, it'll stay as credit in my credit card account. Maybe I'll switch to RBC. Seriously I'm done with TD.
It doesn’t make any sense to me either.
If my statement cuts and I owe $800, but then I returned something that was $200 that didn’t get refunded until after the statement cut, I now only owe $600.
So why on earth would I need to still pay $800, and be forced to either make another purchase on the card, or to contact the bank for the $200 back?
Obviously it isn’t an issue if you’re still using the card every day, but can be pretty annoying if it’s not your every day card, and you only use it for certain purchases.
Deal Addict
Oct 13, 2014
2896 posts
2234 upvotes
Just Moved To Somewh…
@testmann Please clarify the date - are you referring to the statement date or the due date? I bank with T.D. and I have never had an issue with late credits as long as the credit is in the account before the actual due date. Then the account reflects the actual balance which may then be less than the statement balance due.
#1 - “Don’t irritate old people. The older they get, the less “Life in prison” is a deterrent."
#2 - Are you a Sexual Intellect? /S - What you post in this thread may determine that.
Deal Addict
Oct 7, 2012
2005 posts
696 upvotes
Montreal
Dynatos wrote: Typically refunds received after a bill is issued don't count towards the payment for that bill. They offset the balance for your next bill.

That's my experience with my issuers, anyway.
My experience as well
always pay the printed bill then look to see what next amount is coming cycle for adjustment
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Sep 7, 2004
9135 posts
7080 upvotes
West GTEH!
testmann wrote: I don't do this a lot but when I get the refund after the statement date, I usually call TD Credit card company and tell them that I'll make a payment minus the refund made recently. I haven't had any problems or long conversations with them before. They all say sure, go ahead. That was it. No arguments or anything.
But then when I called them yesterday and talked with 2 people, they were giving me a lecture and insisted I must make a full payment. They both were making me feel like I'm doing something really wrong. I've never been late or missed the payment dates for almost 2 decades.
Again I don't this a lot. As far as I remember, last time I did was 2 years ago. It seems like that doesn't matter to them. They just told me to make a full payment, and then call them again to transfer the credit to my bank account. I was really appalled with these people because they kept saying, "the system doesn't allow it" when I told them, I don't want to waste my time by calling you again. It was like I was talking to the robots. Is there some kind of change of policies from TD or other credit card companies in this situation?
testmann wrote: I have to call them to move the credit to my bank account. Otherwise, it'll stay as credit in my credit card account. Maybe I'll switch to RBC. Seriously I'm done with TD.
I'm guessing you don't use your TD card often.
If this is the case, then it makes sense to pay your Balance less the Refund amount.
😎
Deal Addict
User avatar
Dec 4, 2007
4869 posts
2743 upvotes
Quebec
they just want to prevent you from being charge for interest from the actual day of your purchase if the credit from the refund appear AFTER the limit date to make your payment.
Sr. Member
Dec 22, 2010
755 posts
738 upvotes
Ontario
rcmpvet wrote: @testmann Please clarify the date - are you referring to the statement date or the due date? I bank with T.D. and I have never had an issue with late credits as long as the credit is in the account before the actual due date. Then the account reflects the actual balance which may then be less than the statement balance due.
It's the statement date, NOT the due date. Also as I explained, I didn't have any problems with them either before. They were quiet reasonable. But obviously something's changed. If the change was made because I didn't handle my payments well, I would understand, but that really wasn't the case. So I was feeling like WTF.
Webhead wrote: I'm guessing you don't use your TD card often.
If this is the case, then it makes sense to pay your Balance less the Refund amount.
I actually use this card a lot. This is my main credit card. Recently, I bought an expensive monitor and returned it. All I was trying to was to make a payment, and avoid hundreds of cash left it as credit.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 14, 2003
6675 posts
5466 upvotes
LaLaLand
It should be applied to reduce your balance. What if you have only one purchase and got billed for it and then returned it before the bill due date? If you paid the bill, you would have paid for it something that you already returned and got a refund for it, but maybe TD is strange that way. I think your problem was talking to TD. Most of the staff have no idea what they are taking about.

At American Express and CIBC, refunds are applied towards the balance. On auto-pay, American Express still takes out the balance on the bill, but I can stop it and pay the lesser amount and it is fine. CIBC automatically takes out the difference between the billed amount less was already paid.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Jan 31, 2006
8541 posts
2655 upvotes
Toronto
testmann wrote: I have to call them to move the credit to my bank account. Otherwise, it'll stay as credit in my credit card account. Maybe I'll switch to RBC. Seriously I'm done with TD.
Whether you stay or go to another bank, its the same thing, $ credited after the statement date does not count as a payment.
Newbie
Aug 4, 2018
71 posts
235 upvotes
This looks to be the infamous TD=TooDumb system bug of ignoring refunds and/or payments to reduce statement balance and deferring them instead to next bill cycle if a positive balance remains on statement due date.
If such is the case then it has been discussed at length already on TD credit cards discussion thread as well as on Which cards allow autopay of the full balance? thread.

Guessing most who experienced TD system limitation counted on TD too much to apply any credits to billed balance and adjust it accordingly as most expect. Surprise! That would be common sense practice not followed in TD world; but it appears common to learn most are insufficiently dumb about TD biller with each billing call to TD (as per TD reps). LOL

Likely the TD faithful would not find TD Too Dumb to care if they feel the TD system so common as RFD AMEX churning as to be the norm with other billers. E.g., Your utilities' biller programmed by TD behaved the same. In TD land all TD card paying faithful never experienced the worlds at other banks like BMO, Canadian Tire Bank, HSBC and/or RBC where their biller is smart enough to apply post-statement credits to smartly reduce what is owed on statement balance.
But leave it to the TD heretics Smiling Face With Open Mouth to keep stirring up this matter again when TD customer service already insisted more than once that the TD is the right straight and narrow way (or take a hike).
Seems all these TD stories begin the same and (still) end the same. Rebel against TD non-conformity because you are too smart for your own good even if it is destined to be yet another tale ... signifying nothing!

ASIDE: For those who enabled TD credit card(cc) autopay, if you then un-/intentionally paid helluva lot to your cc weeks or perhaps many days before due date of a helluva statement balance, would you aim to maintain your balance less than or equal to zero all the way to due date; otherwise, do you love TD biller all along by telling us you regularly post one 50 cent gift card cc purchase or more after you post full payment of statement balance while on autopay.
Deal Expert
Dec 5, 2006
16787 posts
12571 upvotes
Markham
I think this is due to the fact that you pay your statement balance instead of current balance?

In this case, it's return happens after statement, so you want to pay less . But if TD run same logic(pay current balance), then you will pay more if you purchase something after statement but before due day

I think the issue is customer service instead of system logic
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Jan 31, 2006
8541 posts
2655 upvotes
Toronto
testmann wrote:
I actually use this card a lot. This is my main credit card. Recently, I bought an expensive monitor and returned it. All I was trying to was to make a payment, and avoid hundreds of cash left it as credit.
If it is your main credit card, why worry about hundred of cash credit left on it, as you are using it, day to day purchases ? I once refunded a airline ticket got almost 2 thousand sitting on my card, it take me 3 months to bring to 0.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Feb 8, 2014
32135 posts
15416 upvotes
Socially Distanced
Its silly but i would just roll with this one.
Unless you are closing the account or never using this card again, then its a different story but if it a card you will continue using i would just shake my head and do it.
Who knows how their system is set up or if they "upgraded" it or the agents just didn't know what they were talking about (it happens more often then you think, call center work has extremely high turnover so often training is minimal since they don't expect people to stay long).

Or an agent was fixing it manually before behind the scenes and no one knows how or wants to do that this time.
In fact in Rand McNally they wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people
Deal Addict
May 16, 2017
2807 posts
3662 upvotes
TD Cardholder agreement:

"We do not treat credits from merchants as payments".

CIBC also has:

"A credit to your Account such as a refund for a returned item or an adjustment is not a payment."
Deal Addict
Oct 7, 2012
2005 posts
696 upvotes
Montreal
robsaw wrote: TD Cardholder agreement:

"We do not treat credits from merchants as payments".

CIBC also has:

"A credit to your Account such as a refund for a returned item or an adjustment is not a payment."
bingo
thats the "fact"
of course it may "hurt"
but a printed bill is the amount due... and if you pay a smaller amount, not the printed bill... you may actually get charged interest for the non-payed amount because it has to "travel" for a cycle
right?
:D
Deal Addict
Feb 2, 2007
1108 posts
1118 upvotes
GTA
robsaw wrote: TD Cardholder agreement:

"We do not treat credits from merchants as payments".

CIBC also has:

"A credit to your Account such as a refund for a returned item or an adjustment is not a payment."
And a scenario for the above to make perfect sense:

You have a limit on your credit card of $10k.

In January, you purchase something for $1k. January statement closes and balance due in February is $1k.
In February, you purchase something else for $1.5k, out of which you return $1k. According to the OP's logic, you don't make any payments, February statement closes and balance due in March is $1.5k.
In March, you purchase something else for $2k, out of which you return $1.5k. According to the OP's logic, you don't make any payments, March statement closes and balance due in April is $2k.
In April, you purchase something else for $2.5k, out of which you return $2k. According to the OP's logic, you don't make any payments, April statement closes and balance due in May is $2.5k.
... and so on, you don't make any payments for a long time. If you keep the amounts constant, you never make any payments.
Deal Fanatic
Jan 21, 2018
9652 posts
10924 upvotes
Vancouver
TD is similar to most of the big banks - their computer systems are antiquated and dumb and can't handle any variation from the norm.

If I get a refund after the statement date, I normally just pay the billed amount to avoid any hassles. I'll get it back the next month.

My past experience with TD has been:

If I'm paying off the full current balance, and it's less than the billed statement amount because of a refund, I just pay the current amount owing (deducting the refund). That seems to be accepted, since it reduces the balance owing to $0. I can't recall ever trying that where there were other unpaid charges not yet due after the statement date.

On autopay TD always deducts the billed statement amount from my linked account on the due date, even if the balance owing has been reduced by a refund or early payment. Their system is too inflexible to handle anything different.

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)